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8 Feb 2012

Dear Friends:

You are receiving this message because you have indicated your support for the New York State Principals' Open Letter Regarding the NYS APPR Legislation (http://www.newyorkprincipals.org/). We thank you for your support and would like to provide you with an update on activities of the past few weeks. As always, the most recent version of the APPR Position paper (with all signatures) is available at:http://www.newyorkprincipals.org/appr-paper. Given that the paper with signatures is over 110 pages long, we have also created a separate link for the four-page paper alone. The website has a new Documents section (http://www.newyorkprincipals.org/documents), which should make it easier to find files that we reference.

As of this weekend, over 1330 New York State principals have signed the letter: that's over 29% of all principals in NYS! We have over 5600 total supporters right now. Be sure to check out our website, as it has been redesigned to provide more information and announcements.

For this update, we would like to draw your attention to a forum being held at LIU/CW Post next Wednesday from 4:30 – 6:30 pm. The forum, entitled “More Than a Number,” is designed as a serious discussion of the APPR Legislation and its effect on students, teaching and learning. This is the forum that they do not want us to have! Please consider attending the forum! Tickets are free, but must be reserved through the following link:

As part of this forum, we are distributing a flyer that describes five different things you can do right now to get your voice heard. Although we have indicated these items in the past, they are worth repeating:

1. Support the NYS Principals’ letter

Go to www.newyorkprincipals.org and click Support the Letter. You will join nearly 6000 New Yorkers who believe that test scores are only one measure of learning, and that teacher and principal evaluations based on student scores will have harmful effects on our students. Send the above link to family and friends, and ask them to support the letter and become informed.

2. Write to your elected officials

http://www.newyorkprincipals.org/legislators Tell them that you do not want your tax dollars wasted on evaluation systems that have not been tested. Our precious tax dollars should go to classrooms, not testing companies. Let them know that the last thing our students need is less instruction and more testing so that teachers can be evaluated by their students’ scores.

3. Contact the Governor

http://www.governor.ny.gov/contact/GovernorContactForm.php Let him know that you support local control, not Albany control, of your public schools. The best lobbyists for students are those who best understand their academic and socio-emotional needs—their parents and the educators who teach them!

4. Email the members of the Board of Regents

http://www.newyorkprincipals.org/sed-officials Tell them to stop imposing expensive testing and unproven scoring practices on schools and allow districts to determine their evaluation policies. The Board of Regents needs to stand up to the politicians in Washington and Albany. Let’s protect education in New York State.

5. Talk toyour school’s parent organization

Share what you have learned today. The changes coming from Albany are happening too quickly. The time to say “SLOW DOWN AND GET IT RIGHT” is now! Because of APPR, the number of tests students take, the length of these tests and the time when these tests are given are driving our students’ education. Our students are more than a number.

Thank you for your courage to stand up for our students and schools. We hope to see you next week at the Tilles Center!